Case Studies — Real Industrial Applications

Every industrial operation has unique operating conditions. The applications below demonstrate how Kaybin identifies the root cause of component failure, selects the correct material and manufacturing approach, and delivers a solution that outperforms the original. These are real applications — specific problems, specific engineering decisions, specific outcomes.

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Packaging Line Cap Gripper Failure — Material Match Solves a Monthly Breakdown

Industry: Food & Beverage — FMCG Packaging

Application: High-speed bottle cap gripping on an automated fabric softener filling line

Problem

The bottle cap grippers on a high-speed FMCG filling line were failing within one month of installation. The packaging machine had been supplied with standard silicone cap grippers — a material commonly specified for food-grade applications due to its temperature resistance and chemical compatibility. In this application, however, the operating conditions were ambient temperature with no chemical exposure. The grippers were failing due to mechanical fatigue, not chemical or thermal degradation.

The dynamic nature of the application — continuous high-speed rotational movement combined with significant mechanical load during the gripping cycle — was causing the silicone to wear and tear rapidly. The result was frequent unplanned stoppages, ongoing replacement costs, and pressure on the maintenance team to source replacement parts at short notice.

Kaybin's Approach

The first step was understanding the actual operating conditions rather than defaulting to the specified material. Silicone was the original specification, but a material audit of the application showed that the conditions driving failure were mechanical — not temperature or chemical related. Silicone performs well under thermal and chemical stress but offers lower resilience and tear resistance than natural rubber under high-cycle dynamic loading.

Kaybin developed the tooling required to manufacture the cap grippers locally and produced a test batch in natural rubber. The compound was selected specifically for its high resilience, superior tear and abrasion resistance, and energy absorption characteristics — properties that directly address the failure mode in this application.

Outcome

The natural rubber cap grippers were installed on the line and outlasted the original silicone grippers by six months. What had been a monthly replacement cycle became a semi-annual one. Unplanned downtime on the filling line was eliminated and the maintenance team moved from reactive replacement to planned maintenance scheduling.

This application demonstrated a principle that underpins every material selection decision Kaybin makes — the premium material is not always the correct material. The right compound is the one matched to the actual operating conditions, not the one most commonly associated with the industry.

If your packaging line is experiencing premature component failure, the problem is likely a material mismatch rather than a component quality issue. Send Kaybin your worn sample or operating conditions and we will specify the correct compound for your application.

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Brewery Control Valve Seals — Local Manufacture Replaces a 6-Week OEM Lead Time

Industry: Food & Beverage / Manufacturing — Brewery Operations

Application: Control valve sealing for a large commercial brewery operation

Problem

Control valves on a large commercial brewery operation began leaking before scheduled maintenance could be arranged. The OEM supplier sold components only as complete kits — individual seals and wear components were not available separately. The lead time for a complete kit was 6 to 8 weeks from the date of order.

A leaking control valve in a brewing operation is not a condition that can wait 6 to 8 weeks. The valve had to be isolated, which affected production flow, and the maintenance team was under pressure to find an alternative supply source that could deliver within days rather than weeks.

Kaybin's Approach

The maintenance team disassembled one of the affected valves and brought the worn seal samples to Kaybin together with the valve dimensions for reverse engineering. Kaybin mapped the internal and external seal profiles, confirmed the operating pressures and temperatures, and designed the tooling required to manufacture the seals locally.

Rather than purchasing a complete OEM kit, the brewery now receives only the components that actually wear — the seals and contact surfaces — manufactured to the correct profile and compound for their operating conditions. The tooling is retained on-site at Kaybin, allowing the components to be reproduced and dispatched within days of an order being placed.

Outcome

The brewery moved from a reactive breakdown situation with a 6 to 8 week supply lead time to a planned annual maintenance programme with spares available within days. The elimination of the complete-kit requirement also significantly reduced the cost per maintenance cycle.

Ten years after the initial reverse engineering, Kaybin continues to supply these components to the same operation. The tooling has been updated as required and the supply relationship has expanded to cover additional valve types across the facility.

This case demonstrates what local manufacture makes possible — when the tooling and production capability exist in South Africa, a 6-week overseas supply chain becomes a same-week local delivery. For a brewery operating on tight production schedules, that difference is the difference between a planned maintenance stop and an unplanned production loss.

If your operation is dependent on OEM supply chains with unacceptable lead times, Kaybin can reverse-engineer the critical components from a worn sample or drawing and hold local stock for rapid deployment. Send us the sample and we will take it from there.

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Power Station Turbine Gaskets — Custom Profiled Seals Replace Frequent Pre-Cut Sheet Replacements

Industry: Power Generation

Application: Turbine lid gasket sealing on an older power generation unit

Problem

Turbine seals on older power station units degrade over time as operating cycles, thermal stress and mechanical movement work against the original sealing profile. The power station had been using pre-cut sheet gaskets on the turbine lid — a common and accessible solution, but one with a fundamental limitation. Pre-cut sheet gaskets lack the precise profile geometry required to create a consistent, reliable seal across the full contact surface of a machined turbine lid.

The result was a sealing performance that fell below what the application demanded. The gaskets required more frequent replacement than the maintenance schedule allowed for, increasing both the cost and the operational complexity of managing the turbine's seal integrity between planned shutdowns.

Kaybin's Approach

During a planned plant shutdown, Kaybin conducted a full dimensional mapping of the turbine lid, capturing the internal and external gasket contact surfaces, profile geometry and dimensional tolerances required for a properly fitted seal.

From the mapping data, Kaybin designed a custom-profiled moulded gasket — one manufactured to the specific geometry of this turbine lid rather than cut from a generic sheet. The profiled design ensures consistent contact across the full sealing surface, distributes compression load correctly, and maintains seal integrity across the thermal cycling the turbine operates through.

Outcome

The custom moulded gaskets significantly extended the service life of the turbine lid seal. Where pre-cut sheet gaskets required frequent unscheduled replacement, the profiled moulded components now only need to be replaced during routine maintenance intervals — when the shutdown is planned, resourced and scheduled rather than reactive.

This case illustrates the operational value of moving from a generic cut solution to a component engineered for the specific application. The geometry of the seal matters as much as the material, and a correctly profiled moulded gasket will always outperform a sheet-cut approximation in a demanding, high-cycle application.

If your power generation equipment is on frequent replacement cycles for seals or gaskets that should be lasting longer, the issue is likely the component geometry rather than the material. Kaybin can map your equipment during a shutdown and manufacture correctly profiled replacements. Contact our technical team to discuss your application.